Jessica Furtney
Jessica Furtney Sc7n5 Xo W1o Unsplash 5e8222a94a3a6 5e8ca384bbed6

Toyota Commits to Machine Assisted Cognition

April 7, 2020
Toyota Research Institute launches research into understanding and predicting human behavior for decision making.

The Toyota Research Institute (TRI) is expanding its exploratory research with the launch of Machine Assisted Cognition (MAC), a new initiative to develop and demonstrate artificial intelligence tools that can understand and predict human behavior in the context of decision making.

“A key pillar of TRI’s charter is to explore ‘what’s next’ for Toyota, and MAC is another way TRI can apply its AI expertise to help humans perform better,” said Eric Krotkov, TRI’s Chief Science Officer. “Our vision is to create a human amplification system for Toyota where people and machines work together synergistically to make better predictions, forecasts and business decisions, and do so more quickly.”

MAC is envisioned to be scalable, leveraging the size of the available data or decision-making group. TRI also believes it is essential to respect principles of transparency and privacy in the collection and usage of data.

TRI’s Rick Bourgoise tells IndustryWeek, the technical objective is to model, predict, and understand human behavior. “There are a few different approaches to reach this. One approach is to build a rich model using principles of behavior science, machine learning, and statistical techniques such as causal inference,” he says. “Another approach improves predictions, forecasts and business decisions by developing an application that works synergistically with a human user. One key will be to achieve breakthroughs around difficult technological challenges for making this happen, which is where university collaborations can support.”

According to Bourgoise, the initial challenge is to hire a team of talented researchers and develop a general proof of concept that can be tested in many different business functions. To kick off the process, TRI has hired Franziska Bell as senior director to manage the MAC program. She is presently hiring a new team of interdisciplinary researchers including behavioral scientists and will have oversight of the Accelerated Materials Design and Discovery (AMDD) program led by Brian Storey. Bell joins TRI from Uber where she served as the Head of Platform Data Science and created working teams around forecasting, anomaly detection and conversational AI.

Franziska Bell, senior director of MAC program with Toyota Research Institute.Toyota

The MAC team will initially build and test fundamental capabilities. They will pursue use cases that could have a generally applicable solution for many different business functions. Once a proof of concept has been developed, the group will explore specific capabilities that can support the needs of Toyota users in different parts of the organization such as sales, product planning, engineering and R&D.  Furthermore, TRI hopes that MAC will also contribute to a deeper understanding of human behavior so as to improve society.

Throughout its history, TRI has engaged with university partners to conduct sponsored research in artificial intelligence. As additional support for the MAC research, TRI will engage academic collaborators on joint research projects. Partners and projects will be determined at a later date, but the focus will be on achieving breakthroughs around difficult technological challenges.

About the Author

EHS Today Staff

EHS Today's editorial staff includes:

Dave Blanchard, Editor-in-Chief: During his career Dave has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including IndustryWeekEHS Today, Material Handling & LogisticsLogistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance. In addition, he serves as senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference. With over 30 years of B2B media experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2021), which has been translated into several languages and is currently in its third edition. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at major trade shows and conferences, and has won numerous awards for writing and editing. He is a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame, and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University.

Adrienne Selko, Senior Editor: In addition to her roles with EHS Today and the Safety Leadership Conference, Adrienne is also a senior editor at IndustryWeek and has written about many topics, with her current focus on workforce development strategies. She is also a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics. Previously she was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck?, which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list.

Nicole Stempak, Managing Editor:  Nicole Stempak is managing editor of EHS Today and conference content manager of the Safety Leadership Conference.

Sponsored Recommendations

Avetta Named a Leader in The Verdantix Green Quadrant: Supply Chain Sustainability Software 2024

Nov. 26, 2024
Avetta was named a leader by Verdantix in a 2024 sustainability software report for our ability to help clients and suppliers build sustainable supply chains.

Avetta is a Leader in Supply Chain Sustainability Software

Nov. 26, 2024
Verdantix has named Avetta a leader in its 2024 Green Quadrant for Supply Chain Sustainability Software. Download the report for independent insights into market trends and top...

The Power of Benchmarking in Procurement: Driving Success and Strategic Planning

Nov. 26, 2024
Explore the strategic impact of benchmarking in procurement to drive success and plan effectively.

The Five Eras of Safety Maturity

Nov. 26, 2024
Discover the 5 Eras of Safety Maturity, from reactive measures to data-driven assurance, and how organizations can evolve toward proactive safety cultures.

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of EHS Today, create an account today!